Knitting Obsession

Delicious lace goodness!

Hi! I finished an object! I have an FO!

This is my first large lace project, and it was so much fun. The yarn, the pattern, everything. Some of you may know that I like my yarn colorways to speak to the pattern. In this case, I went searching for the yarn (called Campfire Songs) for the pattern (called Desert Sun).  The yarn just sang to me....so evocative of the desert and the sunrise or sunset, and all of the different colors....

This is a pi shawl, so as it got larger it started to feel like it was never going to end. And then, I started the edging. Goodness gracious....that took almost as long as the last motif.

I did have a lot of help with blocking. Chloe supervised everything. Isn't it amazing how this:

turns into this?

Specs:

Pattern: Desert Sun by Renee Leverington/Goddess Knits, available for purchase here.

Yarn: Yarn Chef  Crème Brûlée, 50%merino/50%silk laceweight. Colorway "Campfire Songs." This yarn is a dream. The dyer has an Etsy shop here. I will most definitely partake in this again.

Mods: I went down a needle size to US 4, as I am a loose knitter. I did 5 repeats of the last motif (you can do 4-8) before I got scared I would run out of yarn. As it is, I have a bit left over, but definitely not enough to have done another repeat. My gauge was 6 sts/inch rather than 5 sts/inch, and I liked that drape better. I ended up with a shawl about 52 inches in diameter.

My name is Suzanne, and I am addicted to lace.

(The following is for a swap I am doing on Ravelry. Feel free to comment at will.)

1.  What is your name? What is your quest?  What is your favorite color?

Suzanne, to win the internet, and pink or red.

> 2.  When is your birthdate (year optional)?

May 3, 1975.

> 3.  Do you have any special birthday traditions?

My parents often come to help me celebrate. For a few years we planted flowers in my flower boxes that died in a few weeks from a combination of overzealous watering for days followed by forgetting about them completely for days. We also go out to lunch and get yummy cream of crab soup. This past year, a new tradition may have started in that the MD Sheep and Wool festival is the same weekend as my birthday, and a horde of knitters descended upon me. It was awesome!

> 4.  What is your favorite birthday memory?

One of my favorites is the one right after I moved back to the East Coast from Colorado. A lot of my family was here at my new apartment and it was such a good feeling!

> 5.  Any allergies we should know about?

Pineapples.

> 6.  What crafts do you do - knit, crochet, spin, dye, bead, quilt,
> etc. etc. ?

Knit mostly. Some crochet and spinning....but right now it's all about the knitting.

> 7.  Any sorts of fibers you particularly love or hate or are dying to
> work with?

I am an equal opportunity fiber ho.

> 8.  What weight of yarn do you prefer?

Right now? Lace, lace, lace! Or maybe cobweb. Or gossamer. See a pattern?

> 9.  What are your favorite knitting accessories? (i.e.: stitch
> markers, row counters…)

I love cute and little stitch markers that match my current project.

> 10.  Do you subscribe to any crafty magazines?

IK, VK, Spin Off.

> 11.  What do collect aside from fiber-related things?

Fans (my Aunt Barbara started me on them when I was very young. They are all over my walls).

> 12.  Favorite candy, chocolate (dark, white, or milk), tea, coffee,
> other treats?

I am an equal opportunity food and drink ho.

> 13.  Do you enjoy handmade soap and body products?

Yes, indeed!

> 14.  Are there any scents you love or hate?

I don't like very strong florals or heavy musks. I like clean, natural scents right now.

> 15.  What is your favorite: flavor, flower, letter, number, film, artist?

Chocolate, carnation, no idea, 17, three way tie between "A Princess Bride", "Top Gun", and "Dirty Dancing", and I love impressionism.

> 16.  Anything we should *not* get for you?

A large crate of pineapples.

> 17.  Do you have a blog and or wishlist that are not linked on Ravery
> or listed in the GoogleDoc?

nope!

> 18.  Anything special you would like your partner to know?

Have fun!

Tootsie says

*cough hack gag* ackkk (doesn't she kind of look like Bill the Cat there?)

Even my brother wants to know why I haven't blogged

....and he has a kid and everything. I have no such excuse, other than the R word, which continues to suck my time continually but in A Good Way, and really I don't have any other excuses. I can't even say that I have kept up with other blogs because...I haven't...so I expect my subscriber list is rather skimpy right now. I'm flying out to California to see my nephew (and my brother and sister-in-law) soon and I think I will archive all of the blogs I am behind on so I can read them on the plane. I have many big plans.

So, knitting! I did finish all of my Christmas knitting, which was amazing. My sister-in-law loves bright colors, so I made her Haruha in a bright J.Knits sock yarn in colorway Kansas:

This is blocking. It is pretty wild, but I am very happy with it. It pooled in an interesting way, almost stripy. The knit itself was fast and fun.

For Mom, I finally, finally made her something out of the brown-gold mohair that she has been coveting. This is a simple wrap, which I think needs a little more length, but for now is working out well. The yarn is Misty Mountain Farm Brushed Mohair, in an unknown colorway, which has been marinating since MD S&W 2006.

I'm certainly glad I managed to take a great picture of the one BIG mistake, which is the double row of garter stitch from when I put the wrap down in a fit of "can't take anymore" and picked it back up weeks later.

Since Christmas, I've been casting on innumerable projects and have developed severe second sock syndrome. I think I have 8 single socks hanging about. I also have a bit of a lace fetish going, which is keeping me hopping until my sock mojo comes back. The Ravelry Helpers are doing a KAL, for Tiger Eyes (that is a .pdf!), and here is mine (well, now it has about 5 more repeats. But I don't have a more current picture):

This is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Sierra. It is tasty. I love the slight halo the mohair gives it. The pattern is a lot of fun, but I am always a little thrown off by the row in which you create the eyes, since you end up knitting and purling into the same giant yo four times, and it's kind of tricksy (for me). But fun nonetheless and currently marinating.  PS-I love my new camera. I "lost" ("lost"= intoxicated at New Years Eve ball and left it on the table when finding cab-hi Mom!) my other one. I lurve this one. It has image stabilizer. Good for the trembling hands.

I did also start the Kitri Mantilla, which is a kit I picked up in Rhinebeck last year. I got it with the Kitri sock pattern, but the mantilla has been calling me. This is truly my first large and real lace project, real in the sense that this is the smallest yarn I have ever worked with (unless I count crocheting doilies on size 20 yarn, which isn't that small really). It was agonizing the first two rows, and now I am getting a bit of a rhythm. I think I am going to wear this undraped, that is without the gathered area at the bottom, because really. I don't need to accentuate my booty that much. My booty is a little smaller since dropping 30 pounds, but let's face it. It's still there. The mantilla will still be gorgeous and as I am a fan collector, this really makes sense to me. Here's a pathetic cell phone blurry shot, with Bob as accent.

Let's see....I'm sure I have something else new on needles....oh! I started my first double knitting project. This was a wee challenging to me at first, but now it is humming right along.

I kind of love it. I love the bright colors. This is Uncle Argyle's Scarf from "Son of Stitch and Bitch" and the designer is Lindsey Hendricks, who I KNOW in REAL LIFE and who autographed my book. Sweet! Notice how I was able to cover up my mistakes with rotten duplicate stitching. Well, hopefully you can't notice it. Because otherwise what would be the point?

Tootsie is not impressed.

Hope to see you soon!

Long time no see

Hi! Wow, it has been a long time since I've blogged. I've been concentrating on my health (joined a gym and got a personal trainer and nutritionist) and that has taken up what little time is left over from the time suck of Ravelry. I'm a Helper there, along with a bunch of other wonderful women,  to help take the burden off the lone coder who is developing the site. The site is growing by leaps and bounds every day and it's amazing to watch. The organization of my stash alone has been great. The site developers are planning an Open House in January, since the site won't be out of beta for a while. It will be a chance for some of you to see what I've been yakking about for months (hi Mom!).

Needles-wise, I am slogging through Christmas knitting, and have one more gift to complete. It shouldn't be a problem, and I'll post those projects after Christmas. As soon as I finish Christmas stuff, I can get back to Jeanie from the most recent Knitty, which is entrancing. I'm using this gorgeous stuff:

which is Dream in Color Smooshy Sock in Black Parade, and I lurve it. I love the depth of this colorway. It is a little challenging to knit at night though! I need brighter light bulbs, I think.

My other WIP that is on hold till Christmas knitting is over is my first Clapotis, which I started to stave off my longing for Jeanie.

Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in Gold Hill. Mmmmmm soft.

The kitties are doing well....and here is Tootsie, snoring on the scraps from one of my Christmas gifts.

She is so loud....wakes me up sometimes. Chloe has arthritis, so she is on a multivitamin with glucosamine. She is not very enthusiastic about her chewable tablets. I have to hide them in her food and bribe her with Greenies, and she still eats her way around the pieces. She is as active as ever, so she can't be in too much pain.

I did make it to Rhinebeck, and it was amazing. I drove up with two good friends from Ravelry, (bunnysquirrel and booksherpa) and we had a blast.

It was beautiful, and we met Casey and Jess from Ravelry, a whole lot of other Ravelers, and the party was so much fun. Bob guarded our car, along with bunnysquirrel Jess's animals.

We were sorry to come home.

I'm gonna try hard to blog more...a friend suggested following WIP Wednesday and Yarn Pr0n Fridays and I may try that. I also have been spinning on Katarina off and on (more off while trying to get through the Xmas stuff) and want to blog that too, as I am spinning stuff that looks less like garbage and more like string.

I am so far behind on my blogs that Google Reader refuses to count above 1000. I am a little (a lot) ashamed about it and need to remember to do the thing where you can save up a bunch of posts to read off line while I am in PA for Christmas. That will help me catch up though I won't be able to comment. But know that I am thinking of all of my friends and hoping you are having a safe and blessed holiday season.

Ravelry is a time suck

Good gravy. I spend more time on Ravelry than is good for one. The good thing is that it has forced me to take a fearless and searching inventory of my sock yarn problem and how I need to STOP BUYING IT before I go bankrupt.
I did get to cracking on my Sockapalooooza socks!

I haven't heard from her in a while despite a few emails so I hope she is still participating. These socks are nothing but a pleasure to knit. They are River Rapids (.pdf) in Scarlet Fleece Silk and Ivory sock yarn, a DK weight silk/merino blend that is heaven to knit. Colorway is Olives and Pimentos.

The pattern has been so fast and fun.

I really hope she likes them! This is my first time in a swap. I've never been very good at deadline knitting and don't really like when people ask me to knit them something by a certain time because then I stress about it and it isn't fun to knit. But I gave myself the whole month to work on these and it has been pretty fun, actually. I'm having fun deciding what to put in the package too!

Those of you participating...what do you throw in your package? I've got some fun things but could always use more suggestions!

Hope those of you here on the East Coast are surviving this wicked heat blast. I am working nights (yuck!) but at least it means I am inside sleeping during the hottest parts of the day. I'm very tempted to wake up tomorrow and go see the new Harry Potter movie by myself as an afternoon matinée (I can't ask B to see it with me...he hasn't read the books or seen any of the movies [YET] and I just made him go see "Transformers" on the 4th of July. Optimus Prime, my heeeero!). I did promise my father that I would see it with him too. But I can see it twice, I'm sure. I'll have to call and ask him tomorrow when I wake up!

Maybe stockinette socks are the way to go after all.

Turns out I can whip them out pretty quickly. This is about 8 hours worth of knitting.

Plus, they really do look pretty. Maybe I'll use this pattern for all of the highly variegated yarns, the ones that wouldn't show a pattern well anyway. This yarn is Seacoast Handpainted Panda, a wool/bamboo blend that is very light and airy. There are several new patterns on Knitty that are very appealing because they are anklets that are tempting me as well....I really, really need to work on knitting up some of my sock yarn stash. Recent uploads and editing on Ravelry are making this very clear to me!
I hop everyone who is a dad or has a dad in their life has a wonderful weekend...I am going to B's nephew's graduation party and then we are going to go out to an outdoors show and hopefully to enjoy the weather. I am off work on Monday and Tuesday and I think I am going to make that long-desired trip to East Berlin to try out some wheels at The Mannings. Can't wait!

Don't blow the bank!